NORTH Melbourne coach Brad Scott says spearhead Ben Brown can still make an impact on Sunday, even if his past goalkicking struggles against Geelong continue.
Brown has kicked five majors in six career clashes with the Cats, including being held goalless on four occasions.
The 26-year-old, who routinely contends with double-teams, was back among the goals last week with four at Carlton's expense in a landslide 58-point triumph.
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Repeating the dose against top side Geelong is the next challenge for Brown, who at least has the likes of Mason Wood, Nick Larkey and Taylor Garner for support now.
Dual Cats club champion Mark Blicavs is the ideal match-up for Brown in height and athleticism and will likely go to him again.
"They work so well together," Scott said of Geelong's backline.
"(Harry) Taylor's back there now and Blicavs has won a couple of best and fairests and he's a very versatile player, but he looks right at home in defence.
"They've got some other guys who usually play third, fourth, fifth tall defenders that are almost key defenders in their own right, so it's going to be really important that we have other options to goal.
"Ben's an influential player, so hopefully he draws a couple to them and opens up some gaps in an otherwise pretty solid Geelong defence."
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Scott pointed to Cameron Zurhaar's five-goal haul last week as an example of what was possible for Brown this weekend, saying the 13-gamer had benefited from his teammates' "really good work".
There is fascination around what the Cats will do with their line-up for the round eight encounter, given Patrick Dangerfield (knee) and Joel Selwood (soreness) are under injury clouds.
They are also contemplating whether to rest Gary Ablett despite him successfully challenging a one-match ban at the Tribunal on Tuesday night.
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Kangaroos captain Jack Ziebell performed a sterling job on Blues superstar Patrick Cripps, but it remains to be seen whether he will receive another assignment on a Geelong midfielder.
"(Tim) Kelly's in good form, but again you see Dangerfield having limited impact through injury last week and Selwood not playing at all but they still got the job done through the midfield," Scott said.
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"So there's a variety (of strong performers in there) and I think we've still got to work on the balance between stopping a really good opposition player.
"What I really liked about Jack's game last week was not only the role on Cripps but he was also really influential around the contest for us as well."
Defenders Scott Thompson (adductor) and Luke McDonald (knee) – a late withdrawal against Carlton – are set to be named in the senior squad, but will need to pass fitness tests on Saturday.
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One player who won't be considered is round one NAB AFL Rising Star nominee Bailey Scott, who was concussed in a dangerous tackle in the VFL last weekend.
The opponent who laid the tackle, Northern Blues midfielder Frank Anderson, received a two-match suspension.
However, Scott, who's been most impressed with the Cats' ability to dictate games, believes his side is capable of causing an upset against his brother Chris' team.
"We're cognisant that we play a really good opposition but they can't stop us doing what we want to do and they can't stop our effort (or) our pressure," he said.
"If we're able to produce that at the required level, then we're confident we can be competitive."
Sunday's game doubles as Mother's Day in an interesting coincidence for the Scott family.
"The AFL tell me they had absolutely no idea, which I'm a little bit cynical about," Scott said with a grin.
"You can look at it two ways. Its win-win for mum, or lose-lose – I'm not sure. But it's a tough one for her.
"Chris and I just like to go about our business, but there's obviously a lot of family that can't win."
